Falcon's Hunt
by kuro-yumi
Summary: Falcon was a legendary deadman. And when a new girl who got injured all the time came in accompanied by Undertakers, using the name deadmen revered, the deadmen were not happy. Not happy at all. "You third generation deadmen are seriously dumb, cutting yourselves open for every little thing." Kiyomasa Senji x OC
1. Chapter 1

"Lookie lookie! You have a rival for the Wretched Egg's attention!" Tamaki laughed.

The irritated nineteen year old ignored him, keeping her eyes on the screen. Tamaki was becoming arrogant, thinking he was in charge now that Rinichirou could no longer move out of bed. She didn't like the man, and he knew she didn't like him. That didn't mean they weren't civil, especially with their deal going on.

The new arrival, Woodpecker, was up against Crow. It was a stupid match, and she said as much.

"Are you insane? This match will be one sided," the girl said.

"Hmm?" Tamaki grinned, glancing sideways at the girl.

"Crow is the fifth strongest Deadman. To have him fight a complete amateur, even one who got his powers directly from the Wretched Egg…"

"Fifth?" Tamaki asks. "You know Crow?"

"No. But he's been here for eight years. The ranking's pretty clear. It's like putting Crow against me. He'll lose."

"Hmmm… You think so," Tamaki said with a sly smile.

She ignored him once again, for Igarashi Ganta had won. She crossed her arms.

"Well," Tamaki said once it was clear she wouldn't reply. "Even though Ganta-kun beat Crow, it's not like anybody could beat you. Now, are you ready?"

Watch Ganta Igarashi her butt. As if Tamaki wouldn't be keeping several eyes on the boy.

Yaboshi Kiyomi walked down the hall, surrounded by all the Undertakers, a few of whom were carrying her things. She didn't know how she felt to move back to G Sector. She didn't fit in with the deadmen. But it would probably be better than living with the Undertakers.

The door opened, and everyone leapt up to their feet at the presence of so many Undertakers, more than one deadman glaring.

"Bye bye," the super monk Azuma smirks at her.

The others dropped her things without a care and turned to leave. She scowled at their backs, but picks up her bags and moves towards her old room.

But the deadmen had seen her with the Undertakers and her lack of a collar, and made a connection.

"What the hell is a rotten Undertaker dog doing here?" A deadman sneered, swaggering up and blocking her.

She paused, glaring up at him, "Move. You're in my way."

His eyes widened, "You little—"

He lunged forward with a fist raised. Before anyone could react, he swung his fist down… And flew across the room to make a dent in the wall. Kiyomi hadn't even needed her branch of sin to take care of him. Murmurs echoed across the room, and many deadmen glared at her.

"Kiyomi? Yomi chan?" An unfamiliar mechanical voice queried.

She raised an eyebrow and glanced around. Nobody called her that except… "Owl?"

"It is you!" Nagi smiled, patting her on the head. "It's been a long time. How've you been?"

"Fine…" She hesitated. "Your voice…"

Her pale hand reached up, touched his throat. Karako tensed.

"Ah," he laughed a little nervously. "They pitched me against my wife. She was pregnant and I lost on purpose. We tried to run away. They took my voice and… They killed her."

His voice turned grim at the last sentence. Her eyes widened. Killed? The kind woman? Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides, and even if her expression didn't show it, Nagi saw and understood.

"But at least our son's living outside. When I leave I'm going to go hold him. Want to see his picture?"

Her eyes widened. Son? Her mind immediately thought back to the fetus in the test tube at the lab, and as she made the connection, felt sick. She looked down at the locket the man held out. There was no picture.

Unbeknownst to the two, Senji and Karako's breaths hitched. They cared for their friend, and they had both seen the inside of the locket. The moment the new girl said there wasn't any picture…

But Kiyomi forced a smile. "Doesn't look much like you. But he's cute. Like oba-san."

"Really?" Nagi laughed.

And the two other deadmen let out a relieved breath.

Nagi grabbed a few of her bags and helped her unpack.

"We thought you were dead, you know," Nagi said as he dumped out the contents of a bag.

"You of all people should know I won't die so easily."

"But they're all dead. Only the two of us are left from the first generation," Nagi told her.

She hesitated. The first generation. The first batch deadmen brought in immediately after the Earthquake. The second generation was the second year, then the third year the third generation. After that, every two years was considered a generation, because that was how long it took for most deadmen to die. Only the strongest survived past their generation. Like her. Like Owl. Like Crow.

"Toto's alive. Mockingbird," she said.

"Number two. I should have guessed," Nagi laughed.

 _Three_ , she corrected mentally. Toto was the third strongest. Not the second. But it wasn't like any of them knew about the Wretched Egg.

They finished arranging everything before Nagi stood and stretched. "Will you be alright? You saw some of the looks from earlier…"

"You're worrying about _me?_ " Kiyomi said, the corners of her lips quirked up in amusement.

"Stupid question. Forget I asked," Nagi waved a hand, and left.

But as he had expected, the deadman who challenged her that day arrived at her room near midnight, and called her out.

Annoyed, she opened her door and glared at him. He had brought several lackeys with him. How nice.

"You! Undertaker's bitch! We're settling things. You're coming to the training room with us, and we're going to show you who's boss around here!" The man shouted, as if she wasn't mere inches away from him.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. Yes. It would be a good idea to settle who was boss around here. As if Tamaki and Rinichirou didn't call the shots.

She walked out, the men making just enough room for her to pass, glaring down at her all the while. A cheap form of intimidation. She fought the urge to roll her eyes again. This was the type that didn't survive past one generation.

Crow opened his door, yawning. His eye, or where his eye used to be, ached. He would take pain meds, but they cost an arm and a leg. The next best alternative would be to train and take his mind off the pain.

He paused mid-yawn. A bunch of muscled men with evil grins huddled together was not a sight usually seen at this time of night.

It was then that he caught a glimpse of the girl from before in the middle of the bunch, being herded somewhere.

He had a bad feeling about that.

He discreetly followed, staying out of earshot and out of sight. Not that any of those idiots even turned around to see if anyone followed.

They herded her into the training room, and she stood facing the men. They blocked her exit. She raised an eyebrow. If she followed them this far, it wasn't like she would just bolt all of a sudden.

"We'll teach you a lesson, Undertaker's bitch," the leader sneered.

She sighed, looking to the side and running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I heard you the first time. I'm not in the mood for this, so why don't we leave it at this? That way's better for everyone."

"Haven't you been listening? Or were you too dumb to understand the message? We're going to beat you to a pulp."

The corner of her lips quirked. She was torn between amusement and exasperation. "Oh? It seems like you're too dumb to understand subtlety. I'll say it plainly. Leave me alone, or I'll slaughter you."

They growled and attacked. Senji moved to intervene. With a fluid movement, he knocked one out and got through the group to stand in front of her.

"Oi, move," she said.

"Keh," he grinned, ignoring her. "Ganging up on a girl isn't nice."

"Crow, get out of the way, or you'll be joining her."

"Bring it." He held up his middle finger and curled it in a 'come hither' motion.

They attacked him, branches of sin out and ready. Now seriously irritated, Kiyomi grabbed the back of Crow's shirt and threw him safely behind her, before she lunged. She ducked and jumped, dodging the branches of sin in an effortless dance. Crow watched speechlessly as she took care of the entire bunch without using a single drop of blood. She glanced back at him and reached out to haul him to his feet.

"That was really something. You beat them without your branch of sin. Were you a fighter before you came here? Boxer or something?" He asked.

"No. Not really," she averted her eyes, then met his eyes again, annoyance on her face. "But you third generation deadmen are seriously dumb, cutting yourselves open for every little thing. And you don't even bother to evolve."

He was taken aback, "Wha—And I came to save you!"

She gestured at the unconscious men, "Does it look like I needed saving?"

"Tch. See if I do anything next time."


	2. Chapter 2

Kiyomasa Senji grunted as his Crow Claw slashed through the air, the man moving faster, stronger with every step.

He had to get stronger. A lot stronger. For him to let some kid beat him just like that… It was pathetic.

It was not like he had never lost. Nobody normal could spend eight years in a place like this, constantly fighting for their lives, without losing. Nobody except Mockingbird and Falcon. And Falcon was merely a legend. Nobody had ever met him. And Toto? Mockingbird had disappeared. Rumors said he had gone insane.

Not unbelievable, and not impossible.

But he wouldn't be surprised if Toto suddenly appeared again either.

Still, it was pathetic to lose to a complete beginner, one who didn't even know that it was best to keep your blood _inside_ your body instead of shooting bullets out all the time.

He heard a click, and the door open a slit, the yellow light of the halls spilling in. He stopped, glancing over curiously. When it didn't open any further, he shrugged and moved to the side of the room, picking up his towel and wiping off the sweat.

The door clicked shut, and he looked up.

He hadn't expected someone to have come in.

"You again?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

And then her choice of clothing hit him. His eyes skimmed her from head to toe. His mouth worked, but no sound came out. Senji knew his face was red. He just _knew_ it. After all, his face was _burning_.

"Put on some damned clothes, woman!" Senji shouted, covering his eyes with one hand as the other felt around for the shirt he had taken off before he started training.

His hand finally grabbed cloth, and he threw the dry shirt in her general direction. She snatched it out of the air and looked at it with distaste before putting her hands on her hips.

"I _am_ wearing clothes, dumbass."

"Those aren't clothes! They're practically pieces of cloth!" Senji shouted.

"Yeah. All clothes are made of cloth. And a tank top and shorts aren't that revealing. What are you, ten?" She shorted. "And you're one to talk when you're half naked. You're wearing less than I am, you know."

But his other hand only reached up to cover the rest of his face, hiding the stream of blood coming out of his nose.

She rolled her eyes with a disgusted snort, but pulled on the shirt. It was oversized on her, falling to her knees. It smelled distinctly of blood and male. He seriously expected her to be able to access her branch of sin with so much of her skin covered?

"I'm covered, happy?"

He uncovered his eyes gingerly, as if it could be a trick. Then seeing that she was really covered, he quickly regained composure. But a faint blush remained on his face. "So… What are you doing here at this hour?"

She raised her eyebrow. Maybe he was just an idiot. "Training. Same as you. This is the _training room_ after all."

He either ignored her sarcasm, or it just flew over his head. She rolled her eyes again. Muscle brain.

"What happened to girls needing their beauty sleep?" Senji asked.

She turned her eyes away. No way she would admit—

"Insomnia?" He guessed.

Damn. For a muscle head he could be pretty smart sometimes. She pouted and nodded.

Senji fought a grin. That expression was kind of cu—He quickly cut of that train of thought. "You can train with me, Kotori-chan."

"Hah?! K-kotori?!" She demanded.

"I don't know your deadman name… Or your name…"

"You could just ask, you know."

"But Kotori's cute, don't you think?"

"Tch. Just stay on your side of the room."

"Still a bitch," Senji muttered under his breath.

She knew she wasn't supposed to hear, so she let the comment slide with a roll of her eyes. Kiyomi eyed Senji's shirt with distaste. Seriously. How was she going to train with this on?

She glanced over at him. He wasn't watching. She let the shirt slide off her shoulders…

"Put that back on, damn it!" Senji shouted.

"Ugh," Kiyomi huffed, but complied.

One night without training wouldn't hurt.

She settled against the wall to watch him, observing the man considered one of the strongest deadmen. After a minute, her finger started tapping furiously, and in another minute, her foot pattered a quick tempo against the floor.

And finally she couldn't take it anymore

"Oi, _goban_ ," she called out.

"Eh? Me?" Senji paused in mid-movement, breathing hard from exertion.

"Who else is here? C'mere," she said impatiently, and in a lower volume, muttered, "This is why you idiots don't evolve."

He walked over, a little curious. "What happened to staying on my side of the room?"

"You think I can train in this?!" She demanded. "And the show you gave me was so pathetic that I couldn't stand it."

"Hey!" He said, affronted.

"Show me your branch of sin," she snapped.

"Why."

She moved her hands up to remove the shirt.

"Okay, okay!" Senji shouted, covering his eye. "I'll do it, so keep the shirt on!"

He sighed and held out Crow's Claw, watching her as she ran a finger over the blade and tested the edge. He had to admit he quite enjoyed seeing the blood well up on her finger from the cut, considering her attitude.

But then with a swift punch, she shattered it.

"Oi! What the hell—" Senji protested.

"Brittle. It's amazing that you've survived with a blade like this," she observed.

Senji scowled. "It's a blade! It's supposed to be hard!"

"It's blood," she said flatly. "Anyways, if you make it that hard and thin, it'll be brittle and break easily. If it hasn't broken until now, it's because your branch of sin is stronger than your opponents'. But if your opponent's is stronger, you can't win. Now use it to cut me."

Senji blinked at her in astonishment. Really? He didn't really mind seeing her cut herself on his Claw, but to attack a woman… In Carnival Corpse he would do it without hesitation. _There_ it was kill or be killed. But he refused to attack a woman when unnecessary.

"I can't—"

"Do it."

Shrugging resignedly, he complied. His arm rose. He hesitated, eyes searching for a place to strike that would not hurt her much, and his Claw fell in a red blur.

Faster than he could see, 'claws' formed on her knuckles. And the moment his claws hit hers, his blade shattered while her claws remained intact. His eyes widened.

"What the—"

He half expected her to smirk or gloat, bragging that her branch of sin was stronger than his. But she merely said, "Feel my claws and compare it to yours."

He punched the flat of the claws, hoping to shatter it like she did his, but…

"It repelled me!"

"Right. It's flexible enough so it won't break easily, but hard enough to cut. You try."

He glared at her, cursing under his breath, but he had to admit she made a good point. The deadmen he had met, aside from their special abilities like explosion and such, usually had either hard or soft blood. He had never seen anything both hard and soft. But it didn't make him any happier when she demanded that he make and remake his Crow's Claw several times, criticizing each time.

Finally, _finally_ she was satisfied.

"This is good. Not perfect, but good enough for now. When you can make this in less than 1 seconds, we can start working on the speed of your attack."

He stopped and blinked at her. "What's wrong with my attack?"

"It's slow."

"You're blunt…"

"I already told you, you haven't evolved at all. You're only using physical strength, and not utilizing the branch of sin to its maximum potential. At its fastest, you won't be able to see the blood."

"Like Hummingbird?"

"Exactly. But Hummingbird hasn't surpassed the sound barrier, right?"

"Cuz it's impossible."

She stared at him, wondering if he was serious. Was the gap between number three and five this big? Then she sighed. Of course it was.

"All right. Mind if I cut you up?"

He stared at her as if she had grown another head.

"Only surface scratches. When I'm done, tell me how if you can see or hear my branch of sin, and how many cuts I made."

She reached behind her, feeling the scars on her back from using her branch of sin, and cut. A whip version of her wings came out.

"Ready? Go," she said, and began.

Surpassing the sound barrier, she cut him five times, and withdrew.

"All right. Answer?"

"No, no, and none," Crow said flatly. "Did you even use your branch of sin?"

"You should start bleeding about… now," she told him, and as if on cue, the cuts seeped red. He blinked in astonishment. "If you can reach that speed, even a dull Crow's Claw can cut anything to pieces. You already know to control your blood as an extension of your body. Now just make it go faster until it passes the sound barrier."

Senji nodded, then paused, turning to her with an eyebrow raised. "Why are you helping me?"

"I told you. It's cuz you're pathetic." And with that, she left.


	3. Chapter 3

Kiyomi cocked her head, her eyes skimming over the room. Blood, blood, and more blood. And alone in the shadows sat a wheelchair, void of its usual inhabitant.

"You killed the geezer," she stated, glancing at the detached head and the body lying in a pool of blood.

"Shishi," the Wretched Egg laughed.

"You've already played so much, yet you still called for me. I'm really your favorite toy, aren't I," Kiyomi sighed, then smirked. "So let's play."

She attacked first, like she always did. Her knife flicked out, slashing across her knuckles. The blood whipped to her back, across the familiar scars. Her wings emerged. Three running steps and she was airborne.

Kiyomi had told the deadmen off for using their branches of sin for everything. But there was no holding back against the Wretched Egg.

If she didn't grow stronger every time she fought the Original Sin, she would die. The albino only left her alive to play. Again, and again, and again.

As it was, she had fought and survived too many times.

Wretched Egg's eyes merely followed her, the grin never leaving her face. Kiyomi's eyes narrowed.

She flapped her wings, bringing her to the ceiling. Her wings folded; she dove. Short silver strands whipped around her face and neck. Her claws struck, missed. Wretched Egg moved just enough to the side for the blades of blood to miss by a hair.

Kiyomi flapped frantically, the front of her body barely brushing by the ground as she overshot her target. Her eyes flicked back. Blood shot at her. Her arms shot out, palms flat against the ground as they took her weight, the wings acting as a shield instead.

Wretched Egg's spear of blood struck, pierced.

"Argh!" Kiyomi let out a strangled cry of pain as the point broke through her wings to dig into her hip.

She felt the sickening feeling of the attack scraping bone, cracking it before withdrawing. Her body crashed to the floor, sliding across it, slipping over Rinichirou's blood.

Kiyomi ignored the pain. It was a must when fighting Wretched Egg.

Suddenly something in her mind prickled, and she dove to the side.

Just in time to avoid the barrage that shattered the floor.

Her legs tensed, she shot forward, wings propelling her. Her claws slashed for Wretched Egg's throat. A line of blood formed, but before her eyes, it hissed shut. She back-slashed, aiming once more for the throat.

As she expected, Wretched Egg dodged…

And found claws buried in her waist.

Kiyomi smirked.

It disappeared when a pale hand grabbed her wrist. Wretched Egg's branch of sin slashed across her belly, and the girl let go. Kiyomi flew back. She crashed into the wall. Burning pain everywhere.

But it wasn't like she wasn't used to it.

Bracing her legs against the wall, she leapt into close combat once again. Her leg kicked out to knock into Wretched Egg's arm, her claws dug into the albino's stomach. Her wings morphed, stretched. They pierced through the other girl's shoulder, emerging through the other side.

The two girls stood completely still for a moment, Wretched Egg studying her toy.

She grinned.

Kiyomi gasped, then bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from crying out in pain. She felt her back burn with a gash, felt her leg give way under her weight from the sliced thigh muscle. But she smirked and her wrist _twisted_.

Wretched Egg coughed, the blood hitting Kiyomi's cheek. Her claws had pierced lung. Kiyomi detached herself and retreated, stumbling a little whenever she used her injured leg. Her back touched the wall gently, but she winced as the light touch sent waves of pain running through her wound.

She made to enter combat again, but she froze. The Original Sin branched into six, lacerating her skin as it pierced the outline of her body.

"Enough. You lasted five minutes… Longer than Rinichirou. And my other side wants to come out," Wretched Egg said, then cocked her head, grinning. "Hmm, why don't I kill you this time, little toy? The old man's finally dead. He won't keep you alive any longer."

"Then do it," Kiyomi snarled. "If you don't, then one day I'll get stronger than you and crush you."

The Wretched Egg's grin widened in amusement, and she approached, laughing. "You? Kill me? Go ahead and try. You're nothing but a toy I keep alive because you're interesting. Just remember. The moment you stop growing, stop amusing me, I'll destroy you."

The Egg laughed, walking out of the room.

Kiyomi watched her disappear, and the moment she could no longer hear the insane laughter, she collapsed onto her knees. The adrenaline drained and the pain hit full force. She felt the familiar itch as she pulled her blood back into her body, then fell forward onto her hands and knees, panting. She barely escaped death. Again.

Wretched Egg had made it clear long ago that she could kill Kiyomi easily. But she never did.

Sometimes Kiyomi wished she would just end it all.

And Kiyomi blacked out.

Senji glanced at the door to the training room for the hundredth time in the past hour. Kiyomi, for he had finally learned her name, had been training with him every day. She never missed a day, never arrived late. Yet that afternoon she had said she would be a little late.

Four hours did not count as 'a little'.

He felt worry uncoil in his belly. Had there been a Carnival Corpse he hadn't known about? No. That was impossible. Did she get cornered? Did she get hurt?

He punched the punching back, frustrated. He couldn't concentrate at all. He had become increasingly conscious of the empty space on the other half of the training room, to the point where he spaced out staring at it for minutes.

Senji groaned, noticing that he was staring blankly at the punching bag, and gave up.

Frustrated, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and kicked the door open, before stalking down the halls to the girl's room.

He hesitated for a moment, hand poised to knock. Should he? What if she wasn't there? What if she was sleeping? He wouldn't mind seeing her sleeping face. It could be cu—She'll probably punch him.

Finally he knocked tentatively. No answer. He frowned. Where the hell was she? He turned on his heel, ready to return to the training room. But as he walked away, he heard a crash, then furious swearing. He blinked and hurried back to the closed door, and carefully turned the knob.

Medical tools were scattered all over the floor, and Kiyomi was trying to wrap bandages around herself with one arm, already having bandages wrapped almost everywhere else.

"F***ing asshole. Who's your damned toy? Just wait. I'll crush you so badly that you'll never look at me like a bug again. Never laugh again… Damn it! Eight years and still so f***ing WEAK!" Kiyomi muttered vehemently while Senji stared, surprised.

"Ummm… Ki—"

The words turned into a yelp as a blade of blood sprung from the girl's back, aiming for his throat at a speed he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge. She was glaring over her shoulder at him, eyes fierce. Then suddenly her eyes widened with recognition and the blade halted, millimeters from his skin.

"Oh. Crow. It's you," she said, retracting the blood. Senji couldn't help but note her tone was utterly calm even though her expression was that terrifying a mere second ago. "Am I late?"

"N-no… It's nothing," Senji replied, trying to recover.

"I'll come now. Just as soon as I finish tying this… ugh!"

The knot slipped once again.

"Here. I'll do it," Senji said, approaching cautiously.

More gently than she would have expected from the muscle brain, he tied the knot, making sure he didn't look anywhere else.

"Put on some clothes too," he said, turning away, bright red.

She grimaced before slinging a jacket over the bandaged torso. In the training room, now able to concentrate, Senji worked on moving his blood faster and faster, until he heard crashes coming nonstop from the other side of the room. He stopped and stared, stunned.

"Oi, are you alright?" He asked, then yelped as once again, she attacked him.

Then the blood stopped, and she blinked.

"Oh. Yeah, why do you ask?"

Still unable to speak, he gestured towards the concrete dummies fortified with metal, now in fragments all over the floor. She glanced at them blankly.

"And you attacked me twice…" he managed to say.

"Oh…" She covered her eyes with one hand, smiling without mirth. "Sorry. My senses are just a bit on edge right now."

"A fight?"

"Y-yeah."

"Who?"

She looked up at him. "Nobody you know, and definitely nobody you can handle." "I'm fine. It's someone I've been fighting for half my life. I can deal."

"Then will you at least rest? You're injured and jumpy," Senji said, concerned.

"Yeah. For a bit," she said, surprising him.

He'd expected her to refuse and come back with a snarky comment. He watched her back as she walked towards the door, for the first time noticing how small she looked. She couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old.

Then she paused. "Ne, do you mind if I stay here? I can at least help with your training."

"Eh? Will you?" Senji asked, a little hopefully.

She smiled again, just a little, and he relaxed. She sat at the wall, watching, once in a while giving a comment, and he fixed his training accordingly. After a while with no sound from her direction, he paused and glanced over.

She was sleeping?

As softly as he could, he walked over and, smiling gently, brushed the hair out of her face. Well, he supposed he could end training there for the day. Then slowly, still cautious from the two times she attacked him that night, he touched her arm, then when she didn't react, picked her up. He intended to put her in her bed, but with horror, found the door locked. He saw the shape of a key in her pocket, but couldn't put his hand in. There was no way he'll search through a girl's pocket… He had no choice but to put her in his bed, and sleep on the sofa.


	4. Chapter 4

_"_ _Take off my collar," the ten year old demanded._

 _She hated the thing. She didn't mind having to take the candy, even though it was bitter and horrible. But it reminded her too much of her father, of the bonds and drugs he used on her Every. Single. Day. She would not stand for that here. She would rather die._

 _Hagire Rinichirou only raised an eyebrow, amused. "And why would I do that?"_

 _"_ _You already have shackles on me. As long as you don't touch my brother, I'll stay. The collar is unnecessary."_

 _"_ _You have to pay, you know."_

 _"_ _I know."_

 _Rinichirou was silent for a moment. "Ten fights. It costs what you would win in ten fights without using any of the CP."_

 _"_ _And if I do use the CP?"_

 _Rinichirou shrugged. "Probably twenty to thirty fights, or more, depending on how much CP you use."_

 _The child was silent for a while, calculating. "And if I fight ten fights in a row? On the same day?"_

 _Rinichirou sat in stunned silence. "Are you mad?"_

 _"_ _You know I can win."_

 _A grin grew on his face. Oh, the audience and the money he could earn from that. More money to invest into new toys for his dearest Wretched Egg. "Deal. Give me a week."_

"Ne, Kiyomasa-san, why is there a bird over all the common room doors?" Ganta asked, noticing the mark once again.

Senji stared down at the boy incredulously. "Nobody ever told you?"

"Huh?" Ganta's brows furrowed.

Senji sighed. "Let's get food first."

As the two shuffled through the line, Senji caught sight of Kiyomi sitting with Nagi in companionable silence. Oh yeah. Those two knew each other, didn't they? How? From the outside? But Nagi arrived ten years ago…

"C'mon," Senji inclined his head for Ganta to follow.

"H-hello, Nagi-san, Yaboshi-san," Ganta said shyly.

"Kiyomi's fine," Kiyomi said.

"Yo."

"Yo," Kiyomi echoed.

"Seeing the two of you together… It's a mismatch," Nagi commented, eyeing the pair that just joined them.

"Yeah. Nobody told the kid about the legend," Senji said offhandedly.

"Ah," Nagi nodded, understanding. "About Falcon."

Kiyomi choked, and Nagi, hiding his smile, slapped her on the back.

" _Legend_?" Kiyomi gaped. "Are you serious? Falcon's nothing special!"

"Hey!" Senji snapped, glaring. "Don't insult Falcon. He's someone all the deadmen here admire!"

"He's… _what_?! And 'he'?!"

"He's a legend. Nine years ago he fought ten matches in a row, on the same day, and won every single one. He _is_ something special!" Senji said vehemently.

Ganta stared, wide eyed. "But it's hard enough to just fight one match!"

"Isn't that why it's a legend? Falcon's the strongest deadman ever to exist," Senji said. "It's why there's no deadman with that name now. The Director learned long ago that the rest of us would destroy anybody who dared to take that name."

"Falcon's nothing special," Kiyomi snapped. "The ten matches probably isn't what you all think it is, and Falcon is _definitely_ not someone to admire!"

The entire room glared at her.

"You haven't even fought a single match yet, and you're cocky enough to say that?" Karako demanded, storming up to their table.

"I know exactly how things are here. Much better than you do," Kiyomi snapped.

"Ummm… Does Falcon really exist?" Ganta asked timidly, trying to stop the fight that would imminently start.

"Dunno," Senji shrugged.

Nagi only smiled. "Actually Falcon does exist."

"Huh?" Cue the dumbfounded looks from Crow and Woodpecker.

Kiyomi groaned.

"That day Falcon fought ten people, but only killed nine. Blood loss and exhaustion, you know? The tenth survived," Nagi continued.

" _Nagi_ ," Kiyomi warned.

"Don't tell me…" Ganta gasped.

"Yeah. I was the tenth. It was close, though."

"So he disappeared soon after that? 'Cuz he was gone when I arrived," Senji commented.

" 'He', huh?" Nagi laughed. "Falcon was a girl. A cute one. With silver hair and heterochromatic eyes."

Senji stared, dumbfounded, but then laughed. "Yeah, good one."

"Nagi-san wouldn't lie," Karako said, practically slamming her tray down as she glared at Kiyomi, as if she was the one who insulted Owl.

"Karako-chan," Nagi warned.

"You're just biased 'cuz you have a giant cru—urk!" Senji choked, Karako's fingers wrapped around his throat.

In a flash, Kiyomi was on her feet, hand wrapped around the older girl's wrist. "Let him go."

"What's it to you?" Karako demanded.

"He's my…" Kiyomi paused, a look of confusion crossing her face. She turned to Senji. "What are you to me, muscle-head?"

"Friend," Senji said hopefully.

Kiyomi nodded thoughtfully. "He's my pet idiot."

"Pfft," Nagi covered his mouth, trying to hide his laughter at the comically hurt look on Senji's face.

"You're a bitch," Karako spat.

"Oh? I hadn't realized after the many times Senji called me that. Thanks for informing me."

"I didn't mean—" Senji managed to say before Karako cut in.

"You're just a newbie! Stop acting all high and mighty!"

"I'm stronger than you."

"You really think so? Then how 'bout a fight. Me and you. Now."

Kiyomi smirked. "I would, but I'd rather not bully those weaker than me."

"You little—"

"Karako-chan!" Nagi scolded at the same time that Senji warned, "Kiyomi."

"Even Crow calls you by your first name. Sleeping with all the men here now?" Karako jeered.

"I don't know. Are you?"

" _Kiyomi_ ," Nagi sighed. He smiled a little, placing a hand on her head. "Don't fight, okay?"

Karako bristled. Kiyomi glared back.

"I'm Koshio Karako, Game Fowl. Tell me your name and code so I'll be ready for our fight," Karako demanded.

"Kuriko, huh? Yaboshi Kiyomi. And we won't get a fight, you know. You're too weak for Tamaki to consider it," Kiyomi smirked.

"It's _Karako_!"

"Actually I want to know too," Senji commented.

"You already know my name," Kiyomi rolled her eyes.

"Your code."

Kiyomi glanced hesitantly at Nagi, then around the room. It was a stupid idea. Really stupid. Did she have a death wish?

Oh. Yeah. She did.

But it wasn't like any of those weaklings could even lay a finger on her.

Then she smirked. "Eh, why the heck not. I'm Falcon. Remember it."

And she left, leaving behind a room full of stunned deadmen.


	5. Chapter 5

_"_ _Come on, come on!" Kiyomi's father muttered._

 _The girl, bound to the table, screamed in agony. It hurt. It hurt! But she knew her father would never react. All he cared about was that 'Shiro' person!_

 _'_ _I'm not Shiro, I'm Kiyomi!' She wanted to shout. But he wouldn't listen. He would never listen. He only wanted to make another Shiro._

 _When did her kind father change? When her mother died giving birth to her little brother? Or when he started working as an assistant to Igarashi Sorae and Hagire Rinichirou?_

 _Kiyomi whimpered, the pain dulling. She hated those chains. She hated those restraints. She hated those drugs._

 _She hated her father._

"That little one-eyed bitch has the nerve!"

"Taking Falcon's name and then insulting him…"

"You should stop," Senji cut in. "She's too strong for you."

"Hah?! She's just a newbie!"

"Crow is right," Nagi said. "He has been the one training with her. He would know."

"Nagi-san! You can't be serious! We're just supposed to suck it up while she insults our hero?"

"Yes," Nagi said firmly, looking around the room, staring into each deadman's eyes. "She's dangerous."

Kiyomasa Senji eyed Nagi for a moment. Of everyone, Nagi seemed to know Kiyomi best. Senji only suspected she was strong because of the demonstration she gave the first time she trained him.

Yet, it was strange that she was never called to perform in a Carnival Corpse. It had been awhile since she arrived, and even Ganta had fought once, with another fight soon. It was stranger that she had been with the Undertakers, and that she didn't have the collar that the rest of them did.

It meant she was either special or a spy.

Most of the deadmen suspected the latter. They were all too willing to kill her. And Senji found himself wondering how she would do against everyone in the room.

There was more than one strong deadman. If he and Nagi and Ganta didn't attack but everybody else did, she would probably do quite well against the weaker deadmen with her speed. But the notable ones? Game Fowl, Hummingbird, Peacock, Condor… They were strong. They had survived more than a few years in this hellhole, and that said a lot.

Most died within two years from the fights, the poison, or the harvesting.

What was it that Kiyomi had said before? Generations?

Senji furrowed his brows. For someone who was new, she knew a lot. And she used her branch of sin much better than most veterans. His eye moved to Nagi. Nagi had said Falcon was a female, with silver hair and heterochromatic eyes.

Could Kiyomi be…

"Tch," Senji hissed.

There was more than one girl with silver hair in the world. Ganta's albino friend was proof. And Kiyomi had an eye patch. She could be missing that eye, for all he knew.

"Nagi-san, we can't allow that bitch to insult Falcon. We think of that name as a symbol of strength and pride. To us, who have no gods, Falcon is a legend. Practically a god," one of the rookie deadmen said.

Fifth generation, Senji immediately thought, then shook his head to clear out the information.

"She's dangerous," Nagi repeated softly. "Do not attack her."

The deadmen filed out of the room, grumbling, their rage still boiling under the surface. Senji watched the stiff postures and ill-concealed rage. He knew they were heading to another room to plan a secret attack.

"They're going to attack her," Senji told Nagi when only the two of them were left in the room.

"I know," Nagi sighed heavily. "You're not going to join them?"

Senji laughed incredulously. "Thrice."

Nagi raised his eyebrow in a silent question.

"She's attacked me three times. The first time she asked permission, and cut me five times without me noticing. The second and third time I barely saw the attack coming. That was probably because she was exhausted. But I couldn't avoid it. If she hadn't stopped both times I would be dead," Senji said, almost bitterly. "I've been here _eight years_ , Owl. And I had never seen something like that. I never knew something like that was _possible._ "

Nagi nodded in understanding. "The first time I saw her fight, I was terrified. And now, after ten years… I can't imagine how much she must have grown."

Senji paused, frowning. "You've seen her fight?"

Nagi smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "From a seat too close."

Senji was silent for a moment, thinking. He didn't think it was possible. If Kiyomi was the real Falcon, the original Falcon, then she wouldn't even have been a teenager when she fought ten people in a row.

What kind of monster would she be?

"Owl?"

"Yes?"

Senji hesitated for a moment. Did he want to ask? "Is Kiyomi… the real Falcon? The original? The one we all admire?"

Nagi studied Senji's face for a moment. What he read there he understood completely. He also knew that Crow probably had no idea what Nagi saw, and that Crow did not understand himself.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Nagi asked quietly, eyes sharp. "You can't un-hear anything."

Senji opened his mouth to say yes, but he shut it again. If Nagi said no, then he would be furious with her. Their friendship would be over, and he would watch, probably with grim satisfaction, as all the deadmen ganged up on and destroyed her.

But if Nagi said yes?

Senji wasn't sure if he could treat her the same. If he knew she was some kind of monster…

Both options would hurt, he knew.

"No. I don't want to know," Senji decided, pushing his chair back as he stood.

He was opening the door when Nagi called out to him. Senji half turned to look at the man, still sitting at the counter.

"Crow, the things Kiyomi could do… They're abnormal for someone so young. But it's not impossible. If you know how to evolve, if you train correctly and continue to evolve, anyone could reach that level," Nagi said. "Just like Sakagami Toto did."

Senji froze, shocked. Anyone?

"Well, it would probably take a while, though," Nagi chuckled.

Without a word, Senji left. But the expression on his face told Nagi a lot.

After all, he had once held the same emotion in his eyes.

Senji waited, leaving door open a slit, listening for signs of the group heading to attack Kiyomi. If he thought about it, it was pretty lucky that his room was so near hers.

It didn't take long. He almost smirked with amusement as the group travelled down the hall. They were so _loud_ , even though they were obviously trying to be sneaky, trying to shock her.

 _BANG! BANG! BANGBANGBANG!_

Senji heard Kiyomi's door open.

"You're here already? I'm sleepy. Come back tomorrow."

Her door clicked shut.

He had to press his pillow to his face to stifle his laughter. Didn't this happen once before? Her reaction was pretty similar. She wasn't a night person, it seemed. It didn't really seem suitable. She was dark and cold, like the moon.

Then again, her name was 'Falcon', and they weren't night birds.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, BITCH!" Hummingbird roared.

Kiyomi's door opened again, and she sighed. "How unladylike. You'll never attract men like that. What a waste of a cute face."

Senji pressed his face deeper into the pillow, his bed shaking from the force of his laughter. She was the last person he expected to hear that from, considering that her sharp tongue and attitude were just as much a waste of a cute face.

He bit down hard on his wrist as he moved to the door, glancing out.

"Fine. I'll fight you, if that's what it takes to get some sleep around here," she muttered.

Her eyes looked around the ceiling. Senji raised an eyebrow, curious. He had to bite down on his wrist again when her eyes fixated on one place and she stuck out her middle finger.

"Oi, Tamaki. Or Azuma. Whoever's my guard dog at this hour. I might accidentally kill a few of them. And destroy a training room. Got a problem with that? No? Okay. Now go fuck yourselves," she turned to the group of deadmen. "You should try it too. Might improve your moods."

… Senji would have teeth marks on his wrist for weeks after tonight. He just knew it.

Kiyomi stood in the middle of the training room, surrounded by around fifty deadmen, give or take twenty.

She was sleepy. Couldn't anybody ever attack during the _daytime_?

Ah, screw it. If she had to deal with this many people, she would rather use blood and end this quickly.

She wanted to _sleep_ , damn it.

A flash of silver, and red burst out across her knuckles. Crimson whipped out too fast for normal eyes to see. Dust and rubble erupted from the walls as deadmen crashed, shattering layer of concrete that lay above the metal.

Senji's eyes widened. One blow, and over 75% of the group were out. The remaining deadmen were just as shocked, eyes flicking between the 'casualties' and the bored looking girl.

"W-what the hell are you?!" Karako demanded, voice shaking with fear.

"Tonight's nightmare," Kiyomi said, and grinned.

And blood whipped out.

Senji stared at the scene, completely dumbfounded. Five minutes. It didn't even take five minutes to wipe out all the deadmen. They didn't even have the chance to use their branches of sin before Kiyomi's took them out.

"Idiots. Should have gotten your branches of sin out before I did. There's no strength in numbers when you're all so weak," Kiyomi muttered. "And? Are you going to attack too, Senji?"

"Hell no. I'm just watching."

"Hmm." Her eyes fluttered.

"Oi, don't go to sleep here!"


	6. Chapter 6

_Screaming. Kiyomi froze in the doorway. The Great Tokyo Earthquake had destroyed most of their home, but the lab remained. The lab always remained. And what she saw… She was ready to destroy the lab._

 _"_ _K-kouta?"_

 _"_ _Onee-chan! It hurts!" Her little brother screamed._

 _Her fists clenched. Rage twisted her face. She stormed forward and grabbed her father's collar, and landed a swift punch on his cheek._

 _"_ _You_ bastard _! You swore! You swore that you wouldn't touch Kouta as long as_ I _was your experiment!"_

 _"_ _It is an_ experiment _. Only one sample doesn't give reliable results," he said calmly._

 _"_ _Oh. I understand," Kiyomi said calmly, backing away._

 _"_ _Of course you do. You're my daughter."_

 _"_ _No," Kiyomi smiled sweetly. Too sweetly. "I'm your experiment."_

 _Her hand closed over the syringe and dragged the needle over the back of her hand. Immediately the blood danced, preventing the wound from closing._

 _"_ _And I understand that unless you die, you will keep hurting Kouta," Kiyomi continued._

 _The blood cut through her little brother's bonds. Whipping it out, she cut through the notes, the data, the machines, everything. In front of her father's desperate eyes, she destroyed all his work. And carrying her brother, she walked out the door._

 _She didn't want to, but she owed him that much—as she left she glanced back over her shoulder._

 _The last thing she saw of her father was the man sticking a syringe into his neck, committing suicide._

Kiyomi lay on her bed. She heard the sounds of fighting, screaming, dying. She smelled blood. She closed her eyes.

 _"_ _After my wife died I created a group called Scar Chain," Nagi began. "We're rebelling against Deadman Wonderland and Carnival Corpse. We'll need as much firepower as we could get."_

 _"_ _Nagi! Don't tell these things to unrelated people!" Karako protested, stomping over, but not without eyeing Kiyomi warily. The event from their ambush was still fresh in her mind._

 _"_ _She's not unrelated. If possible, I'd like you to join, Kiyomi, but you'll probably refuse, huh." Nagi said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Because of your… situation… I shouldn't have asked. But I wanted you, at least, to know about it. Just in case, you see."_

"Little Falcon!" Tamaki's voice rasped through her radio suddenly.

Kiyomi wrinkled her nose in disgust. She contemplated throwing the radio into the wall and breaking it. If she did, Tamaki wouldn't be able to contact her anymore.

"There's a cuckoo in the nest. Mind getting rid of it?" Tamaki continued.

"Tamaki, I'm not _your_ toy. I don't have to do what you say."

"Hagire is dead. Now you belong to me," he cooed. "You want your little brother safe, don't you?"

Her eyes widened, and she leveled a deadly glare at the radio. She hoped he felt it and burst into flames. Growling, she hurled the radio transmitter at the wall, breaking it, before stalking out.

"Tch."

Kiyomi stormed through the halls, the white walls and floor stained with blood and littered with corpses. And she followed the sounds of destruction.

She sliced her palm open, and a flash of blood destroyed the robot.

"Y-you!" The deadmen who had been fighting stuttered.

She glared down at them, eyes dark. "Go back to G Sector."

"N-no! You don't give orders!"

Snarling, she shot out a whip of blood and flung them into the wall before dragging them back into G Sector, throwing them into and locking their room before running back out.

She destroyed robot after robot, taking grim satisfaction in the amount of money Tamaki would have to spend to replace his toys. In the process, she grabbed as many Scar Chain deadmen as she could find and threw them back into G Sector. It was tiresome running back and forth all the time, and if Tamaki was watching through one of his hidden cameras, she was sure he was laughing at her irritation.

With her working, along with the robots and Undertakers, the revolt ended almost too quickly.

She walked into the room where she had locked the deadmen, and glared at them, eyes glinting.

"You! You traitor! You—" one of the deadmen she had collected shouted, leaping at her.

She evaded him with ease, saying, "Calm down. I didn't kill you, now did I. It's more than what that damned robot would have done. And more than what the traitor Rokuro's plan would have done for you."

"What do you know? You're the dog of the Undertakers. You're trying to blame it on him?" Another deadman snarled.

But before she could answer, Rokuro burst in, face twisted with hate and disgust. "Who was it! Who was it that figured out there was a bomb in the USB? Who was it that ruined my perfect plan?!"

The room fell silent.

"What the hell? So you decided to throw it away on a whim?! You were supposed to blow up with the inspection team. My plan was perfect!" His eyes whipped over to Kiyomi. "Was it you? You knew about me, so was it you?"

"Don't joke around. Why the hell would I know about the data chip?"

"Tch. Doesn't matter. I'll have all of you die here. Starting with… Let's see. How about the one I hated from the start, Igarashi Ganta? And don't do anything, little birdie. You know what will happen if you help them, right?"

Rokuro leered at her. She snarled with disgust.

"Leave!" Rokuro demanded. "Or you know what will happen!"

Kiyomi moved towards him, until she stopped mere inches away. "I do not obey your orders. The next time you think you are superior and try to order me around, I will take your head."

And she left.

She stood outside the door, arms crossed, back against the wall.

Senji raised an eyebrow at her as he passed, but she gave no indication that she noticed him. He shrugged and smashed into the room.

"Crow's Claw, Infinite Black," Senji smirked, but the smirk dropped when he noticed the state of the room. "Oi, who started the party without me? So? Where are the strong Undertakers for me to fight?"

It was the eavesdropping Kiyomi's turn to smirk as Senji visibly deflated. He had been raring for a fight, she knew.

"Infinite Black… Not bad," Kiyomi murmured, leaning her head back against the wall.

"Crow, you're strong! Why don't you join us? We lost a lot of firepower just now, so you're perfect—"

He started laughing even before Karako finished.

"Oh hell no! I'm not interested in your Scar Chain crap. I just want to fight strong opponents."

"But we need your strength! Like the way you killed those two in a blink of an eye…" Ganta's voice quavered.

"Tch," Crow glared down at Ganta, but directed his words to all scar chain members. "You say you're weak so you need help? Then I'll tell you that if you're weak, then don't bare your fangs."


	7. Chapter 7

_"Kouta, listen. These men are taking me away. Promise me one thing. Never show anyone that you can move your blood, understand? Never use that power, or the bad people will hurt you."_

 _"Like daddy did?"_

 _"Yeah. Like daddy did. Okay? Be a good boy. Onee-chan will protect you, even if I'm not next to you, okay?"_

Kiyomi knelt in Owl's room, packing his things. She had delayed the job for as long as possible, heart still stinging from the man's death. It was usually the job of an Undertaker or of the deadman closest to the deceased. And with Karako missing, Senji had told her to do it. And then he ignored her.

He _knew_ she was strong. All the deadmen did.

But she didn't do a single thing when Owl was kidnapped.

If she had been there, Owl probably wouldn't have died.

They all knew it. And even if they hadn't hated her before, they did now.

Senji was distant, ignoring her as much as he could. He felt a sting of guilt at isolating her when she was already isolated by all the others, but at the same time he was furious with her.

Yet…

Brows furrowed, he shot up from where he lay under the tree, sunbathing. She hadn't left G Sector. Not once. Since the deadmen were granted permission to go outside, some of them for the first time in nearly a decade, _everybody_ had rushed out.

Except her.

"Ahhh, damn it!" Senji spat, and stormed back in.

She wasn't in her room. She wasn't in any of the training rooms. She wasn't in any of the common rooms. That left…

Owl's door slammed open, and Kiyomi glanced up briefly before returning to work. Nagi didn't have that many things, but it hurt to know he was dead, even more than it hurt to move.

 _Plip_.

Senji's eyes widened. What the—

 _Plip_.

"Oi, Kiyomi!"

 _Plip_.

"What."

 _Plip_.

"Blood…"

 _Plip_.

They were deadmen. If they were conscious, they would never bleed from injuries, since they could control their blood and keep it inside their bodies.

 _Plip_.

So why the hell was she kneeling in a small pool of blood?!

"You're bleeding too much!" Senji snapped, hand shooting out to grab her arm.

An inch away from her skin, his hand stopped, the blood on the floor now sharp and touching his throat.

"Don't touch me."

Senji flinched, and moved back a safe distance. He'd seen what she could do. And he felt a niggling sensation in the back of his mind, telling him that something was drastically wrong.

She only resumed packing.

He bit down on his lower lip, trying to think. And then he got it.

She had dealt with over fifty deadmen at once. Including most of the strong ones. And she had defeated them all without a scratch.

So where the hell did she get those injuries from?

What he _didn't_ know was that those injuries were already mostly healed, and still sizzling shut.

"If you keep bleeding, you'll die," Senji said softly.

"So be it."

"Kiyomi!" He grabbed her arm, ignoring the blade that nicked his throat. "Don't be an idiot!"

At this, her hands stopped, and her eye finally bored into his. "And you would know very well about how an idiot behaves."

"Yes, I do," Senji scowled, ignoring the insult. "And I'm looking at one."

"He's right, you know," a mocking voice came over the intercom. "You're her toy. You're not allowed to die, remember? Or must I remind you? Ko-u-ta~"

Senji couldn't react as her eyes flashed with rage, and her blood whipped out to shatter both the camera and intercom in the halls, positioned to face the deadmens' doors.

Her blood flicked out and slammed the door shut, and Senji sighed in relief when she stopped her bleeding. But something seemed off about her, like there were emotions boiling under her skin.

Senji blinked in confusion. Was it because of what Tamaki said? Ko-uta? Little song? Or Kouta, the name? And what did that bastard mean by toy?

"Kiyomi? What was he talking about?" Senji prayed that she wouldn't kill him for asking.

"The reason why I don't have the collar," Kiyomi replied tightly. "And the one thing I will sacrifice everything for. My life, my freedom, my innocence, my friends."

Senji stiffened for a second and stared at her, suddenly very interested. But he had no time to ask anything else. Feet thundered, the deadmen all rushing in from outside.

"Go," Kiyomi said softly.

He watched her for another second before he complied.

She sighed. She knew what the video would hold, the video they were all rushing to watch. Tamaki had created fake deadmen; Azuma had told her that much.

"Nagi, you idiot," Kiyomi whispered.

Of course Tamaki would not let the video of Carnival Corpse leak without consequences turning it into his own favor. Creating public fear about deadmen was one of the benefits, creating more killers to deal with the Wretched Egg was another.

Not that they would be able to do anything against the albino girl. Kiyomi knew better than _anyone_ how strong the Wretched Egg was. Tamaki was underestimating her.

The door clicked open.

"Kiyomi!" Senji growled, seething from the video.

"Taka-chan~" A familiar voice sang.

"Toto?" Kiyomi glanced up, surprised.

But then her eyes narrowed. Toto never called her 'Taka-chan'. Only one person did.

"Ne, ne, Taka-chan! Crow's blood tastes sweeter than before! Your doing?" Toto grinned.

She didn't answer. Who else but her?

"Ne, Taka-chan? I'm the weakest deadman right now. I got reset."

"Tch. Do what you want," she said, then more quietly, "Hagire-sama."

Toto grinned, hearing. Hagire was the only one who called her Taka-chan, after all.

"Itadakimasu," Toto said, before cutting her cheek with a miniature Crow's Claw and licking it.

Senji's jaw dropped. "Oi! Get away from her, hentai!"

He yanked Toto off her, furious.

"Jealous?" Toto—no, Hagire—teased.

Kiyomi glanced up, a brow raised. Senji's eyes widened comically, his face turning red.

"N-n-n-n-no! O-o-of course not!"

"Hmm," Mockingbird hummed disbelievingly. "Taka-chan, they want to know about the fakes~"

"And? I don't know anything."

"Really, now?" Toto/Hagire said, smiling his creepy smile.

"So? Are you going to tell me?" Senji asked.

"No," Kiyomi shook her head. "You can't un-hear it."

Senji paused for a moment, frowning. Where had he heard that line before?

Kiyomi saw the look on Hagire's face, and scowled.

"I _won't_. They don't need to know about _her_. And they'll have to know about _her_ to understand everything," Kiyomi snapped. She sighed, looking at Ganta, Shiro, and Senji. "All I'll say is that the difference between real deadmen and those fakes is the branch of sin. The branch of sin belonging to born deadmen is their own, each suited to their own host. But the fakes are different. The worm was forced into their bodies and shaped artificially. The deadman does not have to work for their power, and their power will not evolve. The fake does not consciously manipulate their branch of sin, unlike real deadmen. Get it?"

The looks on their faces told her that they had no idea what she was talking about. But she was done. And one look at Hagire told her that he was satisfied with her answer as well.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some sweets with Shiro-chan!" He cheered. "Crow and Woodpecker, why don't you come too?"

Senji hesitated, glancing once at Kiyomi. But she turned away. With a heavy sigh, he followed Mockingbird out the door.

The moment it shut, Mockingbird stopped, grinning slyly at Crow.

"W-what?" Senji demanded.

"You like her."

"Hah?!"

"She's beautiful when she fights you know. A real queen of the birds."

Senji scowled. What the hell was Mockingbird talking about? Senji had _seen_ Kiyomi fight before. True, it was terrifying, but beautiful? The person in question could be considered beautiful, if Senji would ever admit it to himself. But to call a fight beautiful… Mockingbird must be out of his mind.

"I can show you if you want," Hagire continued slyly. "There are videos, you know."

Senji's eyes widened. Wouldn't that be an invasion of privacy? He was pretty sure that she would hate him if she found out that he watched the videos.

"No. Not interested."

"Hmm," Mockingbird hummed, and shrugged. "Your loss. But the offer stands."


	8. Chapter 8

_"_ _It's a deal. We will convert half your CP into real money and put it into a joint account between you and your little brother. He can use it freely. We won't touch him, we won't try to make him a proper deadman. He will remain free. As long as you obey and never try to escape, I will keep my part of the bargain," Rinichirou said, signing the legal contract._

 _"_ _And when you retire?"_

 _"_ _My successor must abide by the contract."_

Kiyomi sat on her bed, wide eyed, body quivering.

'Little guinea pig, now a bringer of death. Slaughtered so many deadmen and soldiers, even your own father. Tell me. Was it fun?'

No. No, no, no, no, no!

The mask clattered to the floor as the girl clutched her head. She was hyperventilating, mouth opened as if to scream, but no sound came out.

"DAMN IT!" Senji's voice shouted.

Something crashed, shattered.

Kiyomi blinked, and hesitantly, moved to the door.

A hoard of furious deadmen made their way down the halls, speeding towards their destination.

"Senji," Kiyomi whispered.

He didn't know how he had heard her, how he had heard the soft whisper amongst the sounds of fury. But he did, and his steps faltered. He glanced back, confusion seeping into the rage on his face.

"Kiyomi?"

And then shock.

He had never seen her like that. Her expression was always cold, emotionless, sarcastic. He had even seen angry once. But scared? Hesitant? Hurt? Never.

He looked past her body, and understood immediately.

"Come on. We're going," Senji said gently.

She nodded, and with a shaky breath, took off with him.

And by the time they arrived, she had schooled her emotions into fury.

"Fakes," she snarled.

As one, the group attacked the fakes. Kiyomi slaughtered mercilessly, face dark with fury. She didn't think. She just killed.

And then there were two.

Her blood shot out.

"NO!"

Kiyomi paused, eyes wide as a foreboding feeling rushed over her. A bullet of blood gathered in Ganta's hands.

"Shit," Kiyomi gasped. "Senji!"

She dove at him, driving him to the ground just as the bullet fired. And then it was dark.

She bit back a scream as pain engulfed her leg, and lanced through her back. She nearly collapsed, but when the weight on top of her shifted and another burst of pain ran through her, she froze.

Kiyomi hovered above the barely conscious Senji, on her hands and knees, supporting the rubble on her back to keep them from being crushed.

Senji groaned. "Wha—" then his eyes widened. "Oi! Kiyomi!"

"I'm fine," she managed to say, cold sweat forming on her body.

She felt each of her wounds clearly. This wasn't good. She wouldn't be able to move, and if they didn't dig the two out fast, she would lose consciousness.

"Someone will have to dig us out. If I move, the wall will crush us," she told him.

"You idiot, why did you—" Senji's voice was starting to sound panicky.

"Cuz I'm stronger than you, stupid crow. I can heal these wounds without a problem. Now do me a favor and shout for someone to get us out, will ya?"

"O-okay," he turned his head towards the small beam of light. "Oi! Someone get us outta here, will ya?"

"Crow? You in there?" A muffled voice asked.

"Yeah. Me n' the little bird."

"All right. We're injured too, so it'll take some time."

"Got it," he yelled back, then turned to Kiyomi, asking softly, "You all right?"

She laughed softly, wincing as she felt the pain hit again. Ah, shit. Her body had just moved on its own. She knew she should regret this, but she couldn't. Better her than Senji.

"Ne, Senji. Promise me something." She tried to keep her voice calm, normal.

"Yeah?" he said.

She smiled wryly. Her voice must not have been as strong as she hoped, if he was getting concerned.

"When we're dug outta here, bandage me up. Don't do anything else. Just make sure I don't bleed to death," she laughed, lightening her words so he won't panic. "And no matter what, don't let the doctor touch me."

She felt the rubble lighten significantly.

"Guys, we're almost there. Just one more piece. Now everyone, heave!" A voice said from above.

"Senji, promise!"

"Ok, ok. I promise!"

"No matter what the injuries are?"

He was starting to get a bad feeling. "Yeah. All right."

As the last piece lifted off and light shone on the two again, she smiled tiredly. As she fell sideways, half unconscious, she whispered, "It's a promise."

The others looked down at her, shocked speechless.

"Oi… Kotori. Kiyomi!" Senji yelled.

A large pole stuck through her side, and a leg hung on only by tattered skin. Blood was already starting to pool under her, and fast. If they didn't do something, she would die of blood loss.

Cursing and desperate, Senji wrapped his own blood around the pole before they yanked it out in one go, and he quickly used his blood to cover the wound, staunching her blood flow. He did the same with her leg, attaching it in place and placing a layer of hardened blood to keep the leg there and to keep her from bleeding out. Only then did he sit back, exhausted and frantic.

"Crow," Chaplin said, worried.

"I'm fine. She took the brunt of it. I only have superficial scratches," he stared down at her face, weary and frustrated. "Damn it!"

"Crow," Chaplin repeated, unconvinced.

Crow finally looked up at the (him) her. "Go take care of your own wounds. I'll manage here."

"All right," Chaplin paused only for another moment, staring back at the two forlorn figures, before leaving.

The rest of the deadmen left, the ones better off carrying along the worst injured and unconscious, until only three were left. Crow glared back at the unconscious Ganta, and like everyone else, deemed it best to leave the traitor there. Then carefully, _carefully_ , he picked up the unconscious girl and carried her to his room.


	9. Chapter 9

_Kiyomi stared at the white haired girl. This was Shiro. This was the girl her father had obsessed over. This was what her father tried to turn her into._

 _This was the Wretched Egg._

 _"From today onwards you will be living with the Undertakers. They will be watching you. This way you can come play with the Wretched Egg at any time without the deadmen growing suspicious."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _"You're too strong to fight normal deadmen. So from now on, you will be the Wretched Egg's toy. Fight her whenever she wants," Rinichirou ordered. "The bracelet on your wrist will tell you when she wakes up, when she wants to fight, and when the lullaby sings. You belong to her."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

"Hah. Friend," Senji growled, glaring at Ganta. "Those shits are killing deadmen because you nearly killed us to save one of them. You allied with _them_ , you traitor."

His Crow's Claw slammed Ganta into the wall, cutting a cheek. He ignored the terrified expression on the boy's face, his fury overwhelming everything.

"Kiyomi's leg got cut off and she has a hole in her abdomen, you know that? She's the worst injured, but not the only one. Tch. You've made me soft. The old me would have cut you open right away. Get out. If I see you again, I'll kill you."

Without a word, the frightened boy scurried out.

Senji sighed. Returning to the girl's side, he pressed his forehead to hers, whispering, "Don't you dare die on me, got it? Not until I know why the hell I'm thinking about you all the damned time."

Over the past three days, Senji had wondered over and over why he had made that promise. He should have known something was wrong. Her words were strange, the promise she had asked for was strange. He should have _known_ that she was badly hurt.

For what felt like the hundredth time, he glanced at her body, too pale from blood loss, red blossoming on the formerly white bandages. And he wished he could break the promise.

At the very least, he should get the doctor to take off the leg and suture her wounds so she didn't get infected. He was pretty sure that by now, the leg, if nothing else, was festering. It was torn _off_ , for goodness sakes. It should be rotting under the bandages!

Senji fidgeted, eyes scanning her body.

"Hello, Taka-chan!"

Senji jumped, half standing as he whirled to face the newcomer. Then relaxed when he saw it was Mockingbird.

"Oh! Still unconscious? I wouldn't blame you. It takes you some time to heal those kinds of injuries, I guess," Mockingbird continued, still talking to the unconscious girl and ignoring Crow. "Stitches would help stop the bleeding better than bandages, you know. But then again, you probably don't want that woman touching you again. Not after the last time, right? Poor little bird."

Senji watched, surprised, as Mockingbird gingerly, almost gently, brushed the hair from her eyes.

"No, I won't let that woman touch you again, my precious toy. The two of us are the only ones _she_ can play with after all. So you can deal with this level of injury, right?" Mockingbird asked softly. "If _she_ comes out, I'll play with her. You just focus on healing yourself for now, okay? You're still _her_ favorite, after all. Good birdie."

Then for the first time since he entered, Mockingbird turned to Crow and handed over two videos. Senji stared at them, uncomprehending.

"You asked for these a few days ago, right? You can watch them while she's unconscious," Mockingbird said, face uncharacteristically serious. "Oh, and take care of her."

Senji glanced at the sleeping girl, then at the videos. He knew he had told Mockingbird before that he didn't want to see them, that Kiyomi would tell him what she was comfortable with him knowing, and she would tell him things on her own time. Watching the videos still felt like invading her privacy. Like betraying her trust.

But she was injured. And he had questions he wanted answered.

Like whether she would heal, whether she would wake up, and why the hell she had acted like she would be alright with these injuries.

And he placed the first video in.

"Oi… This is long…" he muttered, glancing at the length exhibited at the bottom of the screen. He took it out. "How 'bout the other one…"

The other video was only 15 minutes, so he sat back and watched.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the match of the century! Let's watch as they fight for the title of strongest! Ready? Start!" The commentator yelled, and the two deadmen burst into action.

As Senji watched, he noted that the two were Kiyomi and Toto. But… He frowned. It was a match he had never seen before. When was this?

Then soon, all questions and thoughts flew from his mind.

As Toto had said, it was beautiful. Bloody wings sprouted from her back, and she floated a few feet above the ground. She used her wings to gain speed and agility while her feathers cut skin.

But he expected her to lose… The Mockingbird had never lost a fight.

But she won.

Bloody and panting, she stared down at Toto, who had put up a good fight. Then smirking, she spread her wings and raised a victorious fist into the air as she was announced winner, playing to her audience.

Senji gaped. The screen went blank.

He fumbled with the next tape, sliding it in. It was two and a half hours long, and he watched Kiyomi fight battle after battle. His brows furrowed as he noticed something odd, but ignored it until the end. He finally figured it out, and gasped.

"Oi… These are all—"

"The same day," Kiyomi said

He spun around in surprise, scrambling to hide the evidence, then stopping when he realized the futility.

"Ten matches in the same day. I just wanted a little freedom. I spent my whole life chained, so at least I wanted the collar off, and to stop being poisoned every day. The CP from those ten matches got that for me," she continued.

"Falcon," he whispered, almost reverently.

She met his eyes for the first time, and laughed a little sadly. "What's with that look? Besides, it's pathetic. Fighting so desperately for the small amount of freedom…"

He now understood. When they had been discussing Falcon, she knew it was her. And she thought she wasn't worth the respect.

"I think it's worth it. I heard that there's a hostage outside, right? You're willingly fighting so DW wouldn't touch that hostage. And in this hellhole, even a little freedom's worth fighting for," he said, unexpectedly wise.

She blinked, then smiled. "Anyways, where did you get these? I didn't know there were videos, especially not from 10 years ago."

"Ten—just how long have you been here?"

"Hmmm… Since the Earthquake. I was already here when DW was being built…" she stopped, taking the video from his hand and glancing at it. "Haga—no. Mockingbird got you this? Tch. Sneaky bastard."

"Sorry! I know I shouldn't have, but—"

"It's fine. You would have found out sooner or later. But he gave you these two, huh. He must have really wanted it to come out. Ten matches in a day tells you who I am, and the match against Toto tells you how strong I am. Or it's supposed to. Who the hell does he think I am? I'd be pathetic to be at the same level for eight years…"

The words hit Senji. As they both recalled that Kiyomi had said that Senji hadn't evolved since he came, she covered her mouth, eyes wide.

"Sorry!"

"No… It's true anyways," Senji forced a laugh.

"Well, you just needed someone to show you how to evolve. With nobody like that around, you wouldn't have known about evolution anyways," she said, trying to comfort him. Or rather, she was trying to soothe his ego.

She swung her legs off the bed.

"O-oi!" Senji said. "You shouldn't—"

She stood, wincing a little, and placed a hand on the bed to steady herself. Senji practically hovered over her, distressed, ready to catch her if she fell. Kiyomi glanced down at herself, and raised an eyebrow. She was surprised Senji wasn't blushing or bleeding at the nose or telling her to put some clothes on.

She reached down and untied the knots on the bandages, letting the loosened material drop from her leg and side. Senji gaped, torn between embarrassment and awe. The formerly serious injuries had become nothing but surface wounds, scabbed over and still healing quickly.

Her leg was fully attached, with only a red line where it had separated.

"O-oi… What kind of magic is this?" Senji asked, studying her leg where it was supposed to be nothing but a stump.

"Evolution," she replied plainly. "Now get away from me. Don't touch a girl's leg so casually, perv."

Suddenly realizing it, he turned beet red and backed away, a stream of blood dripping from his nose.

Avoiding her eyes, or rather avoiding looking at her in general, he asked, "Is this why you pushed me out of the way?"

She stared at him for a second, thinking about it seriously for the first time. "I guess. Also my body just moved on its own. For a moment, I think I just thought that I'd prefer it if I got hurt instead of you."

At the words, his relief turned to shock, then anger, then back to relieved in a chaotic chain. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly.

"Idiot. Even if you do heal fast, it hurts, right? Don't do something so stupid again. If it had hit you full on, even you would be dead."

She squirmed a bit, loosening his hold.

"Don't worry. I won't haunt you," she said seriously.

"That's not it!" Senji slammed a fist on the bed behind her, pulling back. "I hate seeing you get hurt! Do you know how worried—ugh!"

He spun around, suddenly realizing the implications of his tangle of emotions. Turning pink as she began to suspect what he was thinking, she tugged on his sleeve.

"Eh?" Senji asked, turning back to face her…

Only to feel soft lips connect with his for a moment before pulling away. As he stood there shocked, Kiyomi stood with her eyes averted, pink dusting her cheeks.

"Thanks for worrying."

She rushed past him, or tried to, but he recovered and grabbed her arm. Pushing her back against the bed, he trapped her there. As he lowered his face towards hers, both their hearts trying to pound out of their chests, the door burst open.

"Oi, Crow. The spare bandages—" The voice paused, taking in the scene. Minatsuki screamed, her brother frozen in shock behind her. "You perv! What the hell do you think you're doing to an injured person?! Rape! Pervert! Cradle robber!"

As Minatsuki's branch of sin started attacking him, Kiyomi began laughing. While the two deadmen brawled in the middle of the room, Yoh got the bandages from Kiyomi.

Before he dragged his sister out, he smiled and said, "Congratulations on your recovery. Minatsuki, let's leave these two alone."

Suddenly it was awkward. Crow stood with his face red, rubbing the back of his head.

"Crow, let's clean this up. It's gonna be hard for people to find medical supplies in this mess."

"Eh? Crow?" Senji asked, disappointed.

"That's you, isn't it?" Kiyomi said sarcastically, bending down to reorganize a spilled medicine box.

"No, I mean yes, but you never called me that… It was always 'Senji'."

She nearly dropped the box again as her head jolted up in surprise. Her face started heating up again.

"R-really? I didn't notice," she lied, fighting the blush. "You must have heard wrong."

Suddenly he was breathing down the back of her neck, his body heat radiating against her back.

"I don't think so," he said, the smirk obvious in his voice. "Maybe I could help you remember. I'm not letting you go until you say it again."

"It."

He nipped her neck. She yelped.

"Say it."

"It!"

He nipped again, arms sneaking across to encircle her waist. She froze, heart racing. He blew in her ear and nibbled at it, and it was the last straw.

"S-senji!" She half shrieked.

His smirk widened, and he finally pulled away, allowing her blush to cool.

"Tease," she pouted, throwing a roll of bandages at his head. And of course, it hit.


	10. Chapter 10

_"_ _You're AJL 6, Yaboshi Kiyomi, code name Falcon, aren't you? I heard you never lost a fight," Mockingbird commented, smiling._

 _"_ _And you are AJL 4, Sakagami Toto, code name Mockingbird. And you, too, have never lost a fight," Kiyomi mimicked._

 _"_ _No wonder they pitted us against each other. We have to decide who's number two and three, don't we?" Toto asked, eyes glinting in bloodlust._

 _She didn't answer._

 _That day was the first time Mockingbird ever lost._

"You're not going," Senji said flatly.

"I am."

"You're _not_! The last time you fought forgeries, you got hurt that badly!"

"That wasn't them. It was the Woodpecker," Kiyomi said calmly.

"Oi, if you're going to come, then _hurry up_ ," Minatsuki said, irritated.

"Coming," Kiyomi said, and walked away.

"O-oi!" Senji said, then growled, exasperated.

The group ran through the halls, trying to find Ganta. They really had no idea why. He had hurt them, had helped the forgeries. And in return, the forgeries continued to kill deadmen left and right.

Even Kiyomi, no matter how much they hated her, didn't do that.

So why?

But before they could answer their own questions, they arrived.

"We're Group A, complete forgeries. Please don't compare us to the C-ranked weaklings," the female said. "We won't let you take a single step through."

"Keh! Sounds like fun," Senji said, as the group came in.

"You guys!" Ganta exclaimed, looking up. "But why are you—"

"Come on, you can't expect to party without me," Senji replied. "It's not like we've forgiven you for that incident. We won't forget or forgive you for that. So… If you have something you need to do, then go do it."

Ganta stared in surprise, before ducking his head, hiding his smile. He quickly left, trusting in his friends.

"Let's see. Who'll fight who? We're outnumbered here, ya know," Senji said.

"I'll take you on," a bulky masked man said, jumping out in front of Senji.

"I'll be your opponent, geezer," the kid said.

"Why don't we girls play together?" Peacock said.

"Then I'll take—" Minatsuki began, looking around.

"You play with Peacock and the woman. I'll play with these three," Kiyomi cut in, grinning.

"Oi! You haven't even fought in a proper match before! We were taken by surprise and didn't use our branches of sin last time, but it's different with these guys! These forgery guys are strong you know!" Minatsuki protested.

"Is that what you think? She's been here for more than ten years, ne, Falcon-chan?" the younger masked forgery said, a grin in his voice.

"EH?!" Minatsuki and Peacock yelled, staring at her in shock. Wait, so she was the _real_ Falcon?!

"How did you know that, fake?" Kiyomi asked menacingly.

"I know _all about you_ ," the forgery sang.

Three against one would hardly seem fair, but she took them on easily enough. Diving through the air like a true falcon, she stabbed one through the head, an instant kill, and sliced the second in half.

"And then there was one," she said, covered with blood.

"Ara. You're just as strong as the rumors say, little guinea pig. Poor thing. Killing and killing, sacrificing yourself and everything else just for your cute little brother. But you can't protect anything at all, can you. Not ten years ago, not now," the forgery teased.

She saw red.

"Shut up. Shut up!"

"Kiyomi!" Senji yelled, worried at her outburst, before his opponent drew him back into his own battle.

This one was strong. Stronger than the other forgeries. But she saw red, and attacked with everything she had. She fought like she was up against the Wretched Egg, and it didn't take long. As sharp arrows of blood from her wings stabbed him from every direction, he fell, finally defeated.

She was almost surprised. Fighting like this she wouldn't last five minutes against the Wretched Egg. But against a normal deadman… Was this the result of eight years?

"Keh. End it," he said.

"You've lost. It's already over," Kiyomi said softly, turning to leave.

"Don't turn your back on me! Finish me!" He yelled.

And as she turned, surprised, he rushed forward with a blade of blood poised to stab her through. Before it reached her, she grabbed his head with one hand and stabbed her claws through his chest with the other.

And the mask cracked.

As it fell to the floor in splinters, her eyes widened in shock. Before her stood her brother, blood dripping from a corner of his mouth, but smiling.

"…Kouta," she whispered.

"Nee-san, thank you. For protecting me all this time, for everything. Thank—"

His eyes closed for the final time. Her trembling hand caressed his cheek, quickly turning cold.

"Kouta, how—"

She lowered her head, tears starting to stream down her face. Then throwing her head back, she screamed her pain and grief at the ceiling, bringing the victorious Senji running.

"DAMN YOU… DAMN YOU! TAMAKI!" She cried.

As he reached her side, he stared at her crying figure in shock.

"Kiyomi?" He asked gingerly.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her emotions clear on her tear streaked face.

"Senji."

He dropped to his knees and pulled her to him, and as she cried in his chest, he noted the boy cradled in her arms, and immediately understood. Tamaki had double crossed her. And suddenly something above them exploded.

Her tears stopping, Kiyomi pulled away, wiping her face clean as she cocked her head as if listening.

"It's awake," she said, as if in a trance. "I have to go."

She felt the lullaby playing from the transmitter, but clearly felt the Wretched Egg awake. She glanced up.

"Oi, where are you—"

"Senji," she said, silencing him.

She looked down, meeting his eyes, and smiled gently. "I can't let you come."

"Don't be ridiculous! I won't let you go alone!"

"I thought you would say that," she knelt in front of him, pressing her lips to his. "Forgive me."

And knocked him out.

She quickly stood, putting on a blank expression as a mask, and ran. The Wretched Egg was up there. She felt the presence of the original sin as clearly as ever. The moment she felt the Egg directly above, she cut the ceiling with her wings, collapsing a hole, before shooting straight up. She continued destroying several ceilings before she saw straight to the sky, and a blood red figure floating. And she shot out, floating in front of the grinning girl for a moment, before moving back onto solid ground.

One glance around told her everything. Makina and her troops were there, with many men already sliced up by the original sin. Tamaki was dead, a bullet wound in his temple. And Toto… No. Hagire stood to the side, enjoying the show.

"Taka-chan! Come to play? These soldiers are too weak, and Ganta's not here," Hagire said, spreading his arms in invitation.

"Falcon?" Makina asked.

"Why not? I've been playing with her for eight years. What's once more?"

And their branches of sin clashed.

"Get back," Kiyomi ordered the remaining humans, and they retreated quickly, already knowing that this was beyond their levels.

Makina watched in shock as the two deadmen clashed, and the new come Falcon injured the Wretched Egg where nothing else was able to.

And then Ganta arrived.

The Wretched Egg and Kiyomi barely paid him any attention as they continued their dance. But the moment they broke apart, hovering motionlessly for a brief second, Ganta shot a bullet.

Everyone watched in shock as it pierced through the Egg's defenses, shattering her branch of sin. Her mask flew off, and Ganta fell through the hole to crash into the ground below. The Wretched Egg smiled, and prepared an attack.

"No you don't!" Kiyomi yelled, attacking from the side.

The Wretched Egg turned, but too late. Kiyomi's hands grasped her throat, and her wings stabbed into the Wretched Egg as she strangled her, and finally, _finally_ , the Egg lost consciousness. Kiyomi released the pressure. Picking up the other girl hime-style, she walked to Hagire and placed her in his arms. He looked down at the girl, before glancing back up at Kiyomi.

"You sure about this? You won't have another chance. If you cut off her head and slice her to pieces, even she won't survive," Hagire said. "Or is it your brother you're worried about?"

"Kouta's dead."

"Eh?"

The look of shock on Mockingbird's face was real. In spite of herself, Kiyomi felt a stab of relief. So Hagire hadn't known. Hadn't betrayed her.

"Tamaki turned him into a forgery. I killed him about ten minutes ago."

Hagire stood silent, surprised. "I'm sorry."

At those words, Kiyomi turned to look at him, a sad smile on her face. "Thank you. You protected us for all these years. I don't really hate her, you know. I'm the same as her, so I can't hate her, even after getting cut up by her for so many years," Kiyomi told him.

Hagire remained silent for a moment. "They're getting everyone out, you know."

Kiyomi stared at him for a moment, silent, considering.

"Are you leaving too?" He asked softly, when it was clear she wouldn't say anything.

Kiyomi hesitated. Senji's face flew across her mind, and she laughed mirthlessly.

"I don't belong in the outside world. Not anymore. No. I may never have belonged there," Kiyomi said, reaching out and brushing a white strand away from Shiro's face. "I've been her toy for eight years. I was reborn because of Shiro, and I will probably die because of Shiro."


	11. Chapter 11

_"Ah, you're Kiyomi-chan, aren't you? I'm Tamaki Tsunenaga. The assistant director."_

 _"Hm."_

 _"And I happened to see your match against the Wretched Egg. I find it strange that you do not have a punishment game, don't you?" The man smiled slyly._

 _"And what are you trying to say?"_

 _"You have too many privileges, dear."_

 _A strange, sweet scent hit her nose, and she blacked out._

 _When she came to, her lower abdomen ached._

 _"Fascinating," the doctor marveled. "You're almost completely healed already."_

 _"What the hell—"_

 _"Ah, it's a punishment game. We took your uturus and your womb, you see."_

 _Kiyomi stared blankly. It wasn't a big loss. She never wanted children. She never had a maternal urge, even at fifteen. She suspected she was broken somewhere inside._

 _Well, it wasn't strange. All deadmen were broken._

 _"TAMAKI!" Rinichirou's furious voice bellowed._

 _Kiyomi sat up to see the old man wheeling in at an insane pace. She bit through the skin on her thumb and used her blood to stop the wheelchair before it could crash._

 _"How_ dare _you. How DARE you touch her!" Rinichirou screamed._

 _"Wha—"_

 _"Kiyomi is_ not _a normal deadman. She is_ not _under your jurisdiction. You have no right to touch her," Rinichirou growled. "Know this. Any fight she has against anyone. Deadman or the Wretched Egg. Neither party will participate in your 'games', understood? Kiyomi and the Wretched Egg are not to be touched._

 _"And the next time you do, I will permit her to kill you."_

Senji glared at the paper. Like hell he was going to write his will!

Why the hell wasn't Kiyomi with them? Why the hell hadn't she left that hellhole?! He knew for sure she didn't. She hadn't been on any of the buses, and the name 'Yaboshi Kiyomi' had not been on the list of deadmen leaving Deadman Wonderland.

"And there's the possibility that Yaboshi Kiyomi will be with the Wretched Egg," Makina's voice brought him back to reality.

Senji's eye widened, and he slammed a fist on the table with a 'BANG' that shocked everyone. They stared at him, surprised, and he glared back, furious. "Don't you _dare_. Don't you _dare_ say Kiyomi's the bad guy."

"She stayed there of her own will," Makina said. "And she has a history with the Wretched Egg."

"Not to mention that she's the Undertakers' bitch who worked for Tamaki," Karako cut in scornfully.

Senji gritted his teeth. "That place was hell for her. More than it was for any of us. You don't know anything, so _shut up_."

"She let them kill Nagi! And even before that, she helped stop Nagi's plan! She's a traitor!" Karako snarled. Senji only glared back. "What, you're in love with the girl?"

Senji's girl only intensified, and he rose from his seat threateningly, forcing Game Fowl lean back from the pressure, before she reacted in surprise, "You are."

"It's none of your business. I'll deal with Kiyomi."

He left the room.

But the sight that greeted the deadmen when they got off the submarine shocked them.

"K-kiyomi?" Senji stammered, eye wide.

It was the first time he had ever seen her without her eye patch. And even if he hadn't watched the videos before, he would have known she was Falcon now. Silver hair and heterochromatic eyes. But he hadn't expected her covered eye to be blood red.

"What are you doing here." It was barely a question. Her eyes skimmed the group, glaring at each person in turn. She knew very well what they were doing back at Deadman Wonderland. And it was stupid. They were giving up their lives for nothing.

"We…"

"We're going to destroy the Red Man!" Ganta shouted.

"Hmm…"

Suddenly her blood lashed out. Nobody noticed a thing until the metal pole creaked and the top half crashed down. The deadmen jumped, terrified expressions on their faces, the group quickly backing away from the girl's dark aura and her glare.

"Kiyo—" Senji began.

"Senji, shut up."

Senji's mouth shut with a snap of surprise. She'd never spoken like this to him before. Not just that, he'd never seen her like this before.

"Just how long do you think I've been in Deadman Wonderland? How long do you think I've been fighting the Wretched Egg? The Great Tokyo Earthquake was from _her_. You really think Deadmen could fight _that_?"

"M-makina has a plan!" Karako shouted, glaring at the girl.

Kiyomi stared at the girl for a moment, then started laughing. The deadmen shifted uncomfortably.

"Does Makina even know anything? Forget Shiro. You can't even win against Hagire!" Kiyomi smirked. "I can defeat Hagire pretty easily right now. And I still can't last five minutes against Shiro. And guess what? I've beaten all of _you_ in seconds before. So what makes you think you weaklings can do anything?"

"What do you know? You're a new—"

"Oi, Game Fowl—" Senji interrupted. He had forgotten that she was the only one who didn't know Kiyomi was the real Falcon.

"I've been in Deadman Wonderland for over ten years. I've won every single fight, including the match against Mockingbird. I've fought the Wretched Egg for eight years and survived every single one, even though she's broken every bone in my body and cut up every inch of my skin by now. I know how strong she is," Kiyomi said cuttingly, smirk vanishing.

"So you're fighting us."

"If that's what it takes to keep you from going against _her_ , then yes."

"But I want to play," A new voice said. A familiar voice.

"Shit," Kiyomi cursed, spinning on her heel. "I'll play with you, so—"

"Shishi! I want to play with Ganta," the Wretched Egg smirked, pointing at the boy.

With tears streaming down his cheeks, the boy pushed his way to the front.

"I loved Shiro. I love Shiro, so I'll kill you so no one else will!" Ganta yelled, and his Ganta Gun attacked.

It hit. Half her body was gone.

Kiyomi stared in surprise. Even she had never done that much damage in one hit. But…

"It's over?" Senji asked.

Ganta knelt by the still body, sobbing.

"Senji, don't!" Kiyomi yelled, leaping to grab his hand as he went over to Ganta, but it was too late.

As the Wretched Egg's body regenerated within the next thirty seconds, everyone except Falcon was shocked.

"Idiots, DUCK!" Kiyomi yelled, throwing herself over Woodpecker and Crow, just before the original sin hit.

She hissed with pain as it lashed across her back, leaving welts that cut to the bone.

"Kiyomi?"

"Yaboshi san?" Ganta and Senji chorused, shocked.

"Tch. That hurt, Egg. Rough with your toys as usual," Kiyomi growled through clenched teeth.

"Shishi. You're all still weak. When you become more fun, I'll be waiting," the Wretched Egg said, before floating off.

"Shit!" Kiyomi yelled. She swore for three minutes straight, never repeating a single curse. The others could only stare at the normally cool girl in surprise. She finally stopped, panting. "Tch. Do what you want."

Senji reached out, but she was gone, her wings carrying her away. He stared at her retreating figure, feeling forlorn. She got hurt for him again. Because of him.

"You'll see your little girlfriend again," Karako rolled her eyes, and dragged him in.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Yaboshi Kiyomi? Can I call you Yomi-chan?" The woman asked._

 _Kiyomi stared blankly up at the couple. It was almost funny in a sad way that they could find love in a hell like this. Because they were obviously in love._

 _And she already knew that they would not have their happy ending. Because this was not a fairy tale. It was hell._

 _"I'm Kengamine Nagi. And you're a cute kid. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be like you," the man said._

 _Kiyomi stared up at them, eyes swirling with emotions, but her face was blank. "No. You don't."_

Kiyomi ran, searching desperately.

 _Kiyomi stumbled into a landing, Hagire staring at her with his head cocked. "They managed to do that?"_

There had been sounds of a fight, and in between, she _knew_ she had heard Senji's trademark 'zuppashi!' Normally she would laugh at the ridiculous word. What the heck did 'zuppashi' mean anyways? A stupid, useless habit to take up.

 _She glanced at him scornfully. "Of course not. The Wretched Egg did."_

But she didn't mind his stupid, useless habits. She never did. Sure, it was annoying when he kept telling her to put more clothes on even though he showed more skin than she usually did, and when he always appeared whenever she was feeling down. And that stupid looking smirk, the idiotic way he fights, the things he did that he thought seemed 'cool', his pride about his muscles… He was an idiot muscle head.

 _Hagire sighed. She wouldn't get hurt that easily. Especially not when the Wretched Egg wasn't paying her any attention. It left only one person. The same person she had gotten injured for before. "Must you protect him?"_

She stopped in her tracks, eyes wide at the bloody scene. A trail of blood dragged across the floor, and the two Swallows lay in pieces. And Senji…

 _"Yes." She would protect him with her life._

"Senji?"

"Ki-kiyomi?" He gaped in shock.

She looked around. He was losing blood. It was probably really hard to stay conscious with all that pain, and if blood was oozing out of the stump, it meant that he was floating in and out of darkness right then.

 _"And if the Wretched Egg kills him?" Hagire asked._

"Can you use your branch of sin and gather the pieces of your arm?" Kiyomi asked urgently.

Senji frowned, mind hazy. "I think so…"

"Well? Do it!" Kiyomi snapped.

"O-oi! It's in pieces! It's not like it can heal anyways—"

"Do you want the arm back?" She cut in.

"Yeah, but—"

"Then just do it, you muscle brained idiot!"

 _"I won't let her. I will play with her. Give her my life if she wants it. But she won't touch Senji."_

Without a word, she took a knife and cut open her wrist, ignoring his yelp of protest and sudden movement as if to stop her, and pushed it to his mouth.

"Drink."

"Wha—no!" He said, recoiling in disgust.

She grunted in annoyance and let her hand heal, instead biting through the tip of her tongue. A coppery taste flooded her mouth as the liquid flowed quickly, and she pressed her lips to his. Her tongue forced his mouth open, and the blood transferred to the back of his throat, forcing him to swallow.

When she pulled away, he made a face at the taste of blood. She rolled her eyes.

"Can you hold your arm in place?" She asked.

He blinked, looked at the pieces, and back at her.

"With your branch of sin," she explained.

He blinked blankly again, but complied. He had never used his branch of sin this way, but you learn something new every day. With a sigh, she sat back and concentrated on her blood in his body. She moved it to his arm, using her blood to force his cells to regenerate faster and faster, until the pieces started knitting together. He grimaced from the pain and itching, but the grimace soon turned into an open mouthed look of surprise and wonder as the pieces started to merge, until his arm could hold itself together.

But she didn't stop there.

She continued nudging his cells here and there, sewing together flesh, bone, muscle, until finally it looked as if his arm had never been hacked apart. She sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"Don't use that arm for a while. It needs time to set properly, or it won't hold."

"How… wha—" he said, mouth working but unable to form words properly.

At his dumbfounded look, the others glanced over, and their jaws dropped. Kiyomi blinked at them dumbly. When had they arrived?

"Your arm was in pieces? Or was it my imagination?" Chaplin asked, rubbing his eyes before checking again. "What did you do?"

"I evolved his cells," Kiyomi said. "Right now the cells in his arm are at the same level as mine, but it won't last. Since he didn't evolve himself, and my blood's in his body, those cells will be rejected and will die off soon. So before that I'll heal as many injuries as I could, alright, you reckless moronic brainless muscle headed idiot?"

The others snickered as he whined in protest towards the insults, but he made no move to stop her. Senji watched, eyes flicking between his injuries and the girl. He had no idea when he stopped that and started simply staring at her.

She was exhausted, growing more so by the second. She could heal herself, he knew, but to heal somebody else… She probably wouldn't do that for just anyone.

Was he special to her? He wanted to think so, especially after the two times she had gotten hurt for _him_. But he didn't know if the feelings he saw in her were from wishful thinking or reality.

His thoughts stopped when she fell against him, completely unconscious.

"Kiyomi?" He murmured, brows furrowed in worry.

His hand moved to her chest, and he sighed in relief. She was breathing, and her heart was beating. It was just exhaustion.

"Perv~" Peacock sang.

"Pervert! Assaulting a girl in her sleep, you're the worst!" Minatsuki shouted, throwing a chair.

Senji's eye widened and he ducked, the chair almost flying harmlessly over his head. _Almost_. The leg conked him on the side of the head.

"Hey!" He shouted.

"Take your hands off her chest!" Minatsuki shouted, lifting another chair.

Senji glanced down. His hand was on something soft and squishy… Wow. He didn't think her chest was _that_ nice… Were all women this soft?

"Ow! Hey!" Senji yelped as another chair clipped him, this time on the shoulder.

" _Hands. Off_ ," Minatsuki growled.

And suddenly he realized that he had been groping the girl he liked for the past five minutes or so, and turned beet red. A stream of blood dripped from his nose, and he passed out.

He was glad he had two arms. Because he did, he could actually carry her back to the ship when Ganta decided to go in alone and end things, instead of awkwardly dragging her.

Senji put her head in his lap, a hand stroking absently through her hair, the man simply _staring_. The others were either considerate enough or disturbed by his blatant staring at a sleeping girl's face.

If he hadn't fallen in love, if he hadn't been a deadman, if he hadn't been a policeman before Deadman Wonderland, he would probably have been a creepy stalker…

Kiyomi stirred. And Senji's face brightened.

He grinned. "Good morning."


	13. Epilogue

A/N: I wrote this years ago, so it was probably not that good. I hate reading and writing fanfiction that follows the plot and simply adds another character, which is why I cut out so much of the manga. I probably would either delete it or completely rewrite most of it in a few years. Or even in a few weeks, if I have writers' block on my other stories. But if there are readers who stuck with me until the end, and actually enjoyed it, review? Please?

* * *

 _"_ _I want you to be the Wretched Egg's toy. Play with her," Rinichirou had said._

 _"_ _I want you to be the Wretched Egg's enemy. Kill her," Tamaki had said._

 _"_ _Keh. Who cares? Do what you want. You're free," Senji said. "But if you'll be willing to stay with someone like me, I'll do anything to make you happy."_

"Where'd you get that?" Kiyomi raised an eyebrow, staring at the thing curiously.

Smiling in relief at her voice, sounding almost normal for the first time in days, Senji said, "Was mine before DW. I didn't think it would work, but looks like it's in good condition."

"An eight year old motorbike…" Kiyomi said flatly, eyeing it suspiciously.

Senji rolled his eyes. It was _fine_. "Just get on."

As he wheeled them out, Senji asked, "Anywhere you wanna go?"

She hesitated. She didn't know anywhere anymore. Everything had changed in ten years.

And just like she had told Hagire, she knew she didn't belong in the outside world. She belonged in the darkness.

He drove around aimlessly, silent, enjoying the freedom and the feeling of Kiyomi pressed against his back.

"Ne, Kiyomi," he said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Will you come live with me?"

"E-Eh?!" She recoiled in shock.

"If you don't want to, that's ok. I mean it's moving a bit fast, and we haven't really dated or anything, and—"

"Ok."

"And what am I saying. Of course you don't want to—wait. Ok?"

"Yup. Ok."

Senji turned, a grin splitting his face. "Really?"

"Look in front!" Kiyomi screeched, burying her face in his back.

Senji laughed, but she had felt his heartbeat racing as he asked the question, and felt it start to slow now that she had answered affirmatively.

"I guess we'll have to buy a home, then."

She stared blankly at his back. "So where are you living now?"

"Hotel. The cheapest one," Senji replied sheepishly.

Kiyomi groaned and sighed. "Bank. Now. And then real estate."

They actually found a nice place. A large condo, furnished. But it was expensive. The rent was already a ridiculous figure. To add the bills on top of that… He stared at the real estate agent. There was no way they could afford this. He'd only been out of Deadman Wonderland for days, for goodness sakes!

"Here," Kiyomi said, handing the man a check.

Senji's eye bulged. "W-w-w-wha—? How much money…"

"My father's money. He left some behind when he died."

"O-oh."

"And I have quite a bit too," Kiyomi shrugged.

"A bit? How?"

"I had a deal with Tamaki and Hagire. My CP would be converted into real money and put into a joint bank account. I had intended it to be for Kouta, but…"

Senji's expression turned frantic as the girl's face fell a the memory of her brother.

"A-anyways, how 'bout dinner?" Senji asked hurriedly, trying to divert her line of thought. "…But you'll have to pay."

"Sure."

* * *

Kiyomi took one look at him and burst out laughing.

"What?" Senji protested.

Her laughter died only for her to glance at him again, and she was gone in another burst of laughter. It did _not_ suit him. A suit and slicked back hair? Really? And with an eye patch?

"You look more like a yakuza than a salary man," Kiyomi giggled.

Senji broke off from staring at her, entranced. "U-urusai!"

"Aren't you going to try going back to the police?" She asked, gasping for breath.

"Hmmm… don't think so. But there's no way I can go back to a normal job after _that_ place. It's been eight years," he pressed his forehead to hers, "And it's not like you ever had a normal life. You didn't even graduate elementary school."

Senji paused, suddenly realizing something. "Wait. How the hell are we paying for this place? Rent? Bills? How long will your money last? I need a job, _fast._ "

"It's fine."

"That money won't last forever. Considering that it's CP converted, how long will it pay for everything, six months? A year?"

"Actually... We don't have to pay rent."

He blinked at her, "You bought the apartment?"

"The building," she clarified.

His jaw dropped. "How much money do you have?!"

"Enough to buy an island and live on it for the rest of my life in luxury."

"HOW MUCH?! Wha- how— when—"

She raised a brow. "I was in DW for ten years, you know. And Hagire was willing to pay anything as long as I entertained Shiro."

Senji groaned. "I feel useless. Why the hell did you agree to live with me if you had that much money?"

"Hmm… You wanna buy a mansion?" she asked, eyes twinkling. He gaped. "Well, we'll deal with the money later. For now let's just find jobs. Otherwise we'd be bored, no?"

* * *

Despite saying that, Kiyomi couldn't adjust to normal society. A murderer since nine years old who didn't graduate elementary school. Yes, that looked amazing on a resume. Everybody would want to hire her.

That only left the jobs in the darkness of society. She was born because of darkness, she lived in darkness. Forever.

It was national security, or the yakuza.

It turned out that the national security top knew Falcon, recognized her. He asked her to join them, permitting her to use her branch of sin, and told her that they welcomed all deadmen.

She hesitated before telling Senji about her new job, knowing that he wouldn't approve, that he would prefer it if she was able to fully escape Deadman Wonderland. As she expected, he was a bit disappointed, but he understood, and since he couldn't find a job anywhere else, he joined too. The two became a tag team.

* * *

"Are you an idiot?!" Chaplin exclaimed to Senji, the two grabbing a drink alone.

Senji pouted and looked away, blushing.

"What are you, a middle schooler? How many years has it been since you got together? You've even been living together! And you tell me the most you've done was kiss?!" Chaplin continued his tirade. "Oh wait. You are practically a middle schooler. You're probably still a virgin too, since you can't even look at a woman without fainting!"

"Shut up!" Senji hissed, face beet red, glancing around in utter embarrassment.

Chaplin sighed, "Poor girl. She probably thinks you don't find her attractive."

That shook Senji. "Huh?"

"I mean you don't make any advances. I know how I'd feel after this long."

"Wait. So you're telling me that she's been annoyed at me because she thinks—"

"She's annoyed? That's bad then," Chaplin sighed again, exaggeratedly.

Senji's face was priceless.


End file.
